The Miami Heat avoided an embarrassing loss by rallying to beat the hapless Detroit Pistons 118-105 on Tuesday night.
Jimmy Butler scored 18 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and Bam Adebayo added 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat, who trailed by as many as 17 points in the third quarter. Tyler Herro scored 20 points and Kyle Lowry had 11 points and 13 assists for Miami, which improved to 47-27 on the season.
Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 24 points and eight assists, while Saddiq Bey added 22 points and six rebounds. Jerami Grant had 19 points and eight rebounds for Detroit, which fell to 20-53 on the season.
The Pistons led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter, but the Heat rallied behind Butler and Adebayo. Butler scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of three-pointers, while Adebayo scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds. The Heat shot 50% from the field in the fourth quarter, including 5-of-11 from three-point range.
The Heat will next play on Thursday against the Orlando Magic. The Pistons will next play on Friday against the Chicago Bulls.